


Snapdragons

by Alacri



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-20 11:46:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13146036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alacri/pseuds/Alacri
Summary: Jack Morrison, a high school history teacher, has made a habit of stopping into the local florist's shop. At this point, he's honestly running out of excuses to go over there, but he can't get enough of the gruff war vet who occasionally works the front desk.





	1. Ranunculus

**Author's Note:**

> I got to talking with my friend Jack about AUs the other day so here's my horribly self indulgent flower shop AU fic. Comments are encouraged and deeply appreciated!

The first time Jack walks into the flower shop, it’s for one of his retiring professors from grad school. Professor Reinhardt had been teaching at the school for as long as anyone could remember- honestly it was about time he would retire. Still, he was a favorite among Jack’s professors, the old history prof had been among the best classes he’d taken in his major and Jack was happy for him to finally retire. It had been years since Jack had been in grad school- he was a history teacher now at the local high school- but he still loved and respected Professor Reinhardt and kept in occasional contact.

 

Either way, Jack wanted to send him a little something to celebrate, he figured flowers and maybe some fancy chocolates would do the trick. And so he found himself outside the local, oddly named florists’ place, Talon Florists, looked up at the fancy scrolled text on the sign. 

 

The shop itself was a quaint little place, all dark purple decor and oak wood. It was stuffed to the brim with flowers, making it humid as their perfume filled the air. Some ready made arrangements were in a fridge along one wall, but by and large the flowers were in bouquets in water-filled bins along the walls, price tags hanging off them in an elegant, almost cursive script. Individual flowers in smaller bins lined another wall, all flashy colors and flared petals, most in full bloom. A shelf along the wall held an astounding variety of orchids, something Jack had never seen until he’d moved from Indiana into town. To be quite honest, it was a little overwhelming. Jack was from the country, he’d grown up with homemade bouquets from wildflowers, not fancy professionally made arrangements. He was absolutely lost, staring a bit blankly at the prepared bouquets for several minutes before the person behind the counter, who had previously been working on an arrangement, finally spoke up.

 

“Hey, you gonna buy something?” Jack’s head whipped around when he heard the accented voice. The girl behind the counter looked young, maybe in college, and had bright purple dyed hair, almost perfectly matching the decor. Half of her head was shaved. Certainly not something Jack would’ve expected out of a little flower shop like this, but then again, he reminded himself, he was in the suburbs now, not out in the country. He cleared his throat awkwardly and walked up to the desk, where the girl, was waiting, arrangement apparently forgotten.

 

“I’m looking for something to give a retiring professor.” The girl behind the counter, who he now realized was wearing a nametag on her apron that said Sombra, looked bored. She tapped her nails on the counter and pulled out a small tablet.

 

“Chico I need more information than that. Gimme something to work with here. Do you know his favorite color? Favorite kind of flower? Anything?” Jack hadn’t really thought very far beyond “I’ll send flowers” it turned out. He froze a bit, and shook his head. Professor Reinhardt told war stories, taught classes, and ranted about “precision German engineering”, he’d certainly never talked about flowers. The girl muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like “stupendous.”

 

“Any color in mind?” Again, Jack wasn’t prepared for the question. He shrugged hesitantly and grimaced to himself, something Sombra appeared to notice. A slight smirk appeared on her face and she sighed. “Do you at least have a budget?” Jack at least had an idea about that.

 

“Forty dollars?” He offered hesitantly. Sombra nodded and scribbled something on her purple tablet with a stylus. Damn they really liked their purple around here, didn’t they? Maybe it was a thematic thing. Or Sombra also just really liked the color purple. Either way the shop itself seemed to be drowning in a pleasant, at least in Jack’s opinion, shade of it. 

 

“Alright, forty bucks’ll get you something decent at the very least. Yellow and orange sound ok?” Jack nodded agreeably (he hoped) and Sombra scribbled something else down in her growing list of notes. The scent of flowers still hung heavily in the air and Jack felt a bit stifled by it. “Did you want this today? Or were you going to pick it up?”

 

Jack shook himself out of his thoughts long enough to answer. “I’ll pick it up tomorrow, if that’s alright.” The girl- Sombra, he reminded himself, grinned.

 

“Gotcha. I’ll have it set up by noon tomorrow. Stop by anytime after that, yeah? I’ll take the payment up front though.” Jack handed her his card and Sombra slipped it into a high tech and brand new, slightly out of place in the otherwise quaint shop, register. She handed his card back to him, offered him another smirk, and made a slightly dismissive gesture, essentially waving him out the door. Jack left feeling even more confused than when he’d gone in.

 

The next day when Jack walked into the shop to collect his order, the girl previously behind the counter wasn’t there. Instead, in her place, was the most beautiful man Jack had ever seen.  He froze, forgetting how to speak briefly. The man behind the counter cleared his throat impatiently and Jack, hoping to god he wasn’t blushing, stepped forward to stand in front of him. The man- Gabriel, according to his name tag- looked awfully serious for a flower shop. His sharp, dark eyes followed Jack as he walked towards the desk and if Jack hadn’t been blushing a minute ago he was fairly certain he was now. Excellent, absolutely spectacular.

 

“I ordered some flowers yesterday, for Morrison?” He managed to croak out the words and internally cursed himself for sounding so unsure. Gabriel made a noise that Jack couldn’t quite decipher the meaning of and turned to the refrigerator behind the counter to pull out an absolutely gorgeous arrangement. It was a bit small, but for $40 Jack couldn’t exactly expect more, certainly not from what was, apparently, the best flower shop in town. He gingerly picked up the piece by the glass bowl it was held in, admiring the warm colors. Gabriel said something to him, but he was so distracted inspecting the arrangement that he missed it the first time.

 

“That good?” Jack’s head whipped up and he flushed again, this time with embarrassment. 

 

“Pardon?” Gabriel folded his arms and gave Jack a cross look.

 

“I said, ‘Is that good?’” Jack nodded furiously, trying not to stare. He certainly didn’t know the names of most of the flowers, although he did recognize the snapdragons in the mix, but he could still appreciate how nice they looked.

 

“Uh, yes it’s perfect.” Gabriel gave him an odd look, quirking one eyebrow, presumably because of how stammering and croaky Jack’s voice was. He could practically see him internally rolling his eyes. Gabriel still didn’t uncross his arms.

 

“You paid yesterday, so no need to do it now. As long as the arrangement is fine you can take it and go.” Jack, slightly stunned and more than a bit flustered, dazedly walked out the door to his bicycle. That man had no right to be so attractive, even if he was a bit abrasive. He shook himself, trying to get a grip on himself. He had to bring the flowers to Professor Reinhardt before they wilted, or worse. He did have to admit though, despite how dismissive the employees were, they were damn good at their jobs. As he carefully rested the flowers in his bike’s basket, he thought back to the man behind the desk- Gabriel- and hoped he hadn’t made too bad of an impression on him. He’d never been particularly good at talking to people who he thought were handsome. For someone in his late 20s, he was absolutely hopeless around other men.


	2. Daisies

Thankfully, despite not knowing Professor Wilhelm-Amari’s favorite flower (or even his favorite color) he loved the gift. When Jack walked into Reinhardt’s office, which thankfully hadn’t changed since Jack had gone to school here, the desk was absolutely covered in presents and cards with well wishes. The old man was sitting at his desk, probably grading the last of his papers before spring break. As Jack rapped on the doorframe, the half-blind professor looked up and a wide grin spread across his face.

 

“Jack! You’re looking as young as ever! It’s been far too long.” Reinhardt cried at top, German-accented volume as he shuffled around the tight space behind his desk and came around the front of it to give Jack a welcoming, if somewhat awkward, hug. Reinhardt was massive, and his arms completely enveloped and stifled Jack. Still, he appreciated the gesture.

 

“Reinhardt! It’s good to see you!” Jack gently disentangled himself from Reinhardt’s iron grip, hoping to hell the flowers hadn’t been crushed with the enthusiastic embrace. “How’s Ana doing?”

 

“She is doing very well indeed! I believe she is looking forward to me retiring even more than I am.” Reinhardt grinned at the mention of his beloved wife, Ana Amari-Wilhelm. She had been a professor as well, teaching field at the same university. Jack has only taken one course with her- field biology for his science credits- but she had been a wonderful mix of sarcasm, grandmotherliness, and wit. She was an incredibly smart woman and she knew it; Reinhardt was lucky to have her. Reinhardt knew this, and was happy to take any opportunity to gush about her to his classes. It was one of the sweetest relationships Jack had personally seen in his entire life.

 

“So, to what do I owe the honor of a visit?” Reinhardt sat back down in his chair, making the wood creak. Jack smiled, holding out the flowers. They had suffered a bit from the long bike here, but had held up remarkably well. Talon Florists was damn good at what they did.

 

“I wanted to bring you these, a gift for you since you’re retiring. Your class was always one of my favorites.” Reinhardt practically lit up, taking the arrangement gently in his massive hands and turning the bowl to admire it.

 

“How thoughtful of you! They are beautiful. Thank you Jack, I will bring these home and put them on the kitchen table. I am sure Ana will love them as well!” Jack scratched the back of his neck, glad that Reinhardt had enjoyed the present. He’d been a bit worried that they’d be the wrong color or something, but fortunately Reinhardt seemed perfectly pleased with it. He placed it on his desk in a spot it hopefully wouldn’t be knocked over, and picked up his bright red grading pen again.

 

“Ah Jack, I apologize but I must return to grading my papers. It is almost spring break and I promised my students they would have their grades today! I do not mean to rush you out of here but…” Reinhardt trailed off and gestured helplessly, nearly smacking the brand new floral arrangement to the ground as he did so. Jack cringed inwardly, imagining the utter disaster it’d be if the arrangement did happen to break in this small office. He nodded.

 

“Keep in touch, alright? The campus is going to miss you.” It was Reinhardt’s turn to nod, something he did with the same enthusiasm as everything else he did.

 

“Alright Jack! I will do so. Farewell!” Reinhardt waved one last time as Jack slipped out the door.

 

* * *

 

 

The second time Jack went to the flower shop, it was for his mother. She had come out all the way from Indiana for Mother’s Day and he wanted to surprise her with something special. If he was being honest with himself, he also wanted to see Gabriel again, but that was beside the point. The primary objective was flowers and not making a fool out of himself this time. He could do that, right? He opened the door to that picturesque flower shop on the corner of South and Main again and immediately forgot both of those goals.

 

Standing at the front desk was a tall, thin woman with dark hair in an exceedingly long ponytail. She had an exceptionally haughty expression on her face. Next to her, chatting semi-casually, sat Gabriel, wearing gardening gloves and with dirt on his dark purple apron. He appeared much more relaxed than the last time Jack had seen him, and he looked softer somehow, more gentle. The deep creases in his face had smoothed out some, and he looked almost peaceful.

 

“Amelie, I told you they asked for carnations and chrysanthemums.” When Gabriel wasn’t talking to a customer, his voice was softer, more gentle than it had been when he’d spoken to Jack.  
  
“ Quels imbéciles! It will look terrible.” The tall woman had a heavy French accent, one of the few Jack could actually pick up on. She tapped her nails on the front desk rhythmically as she stood, slightly agitated. Gabriel sighed, brushing some of the dirt off his apron with equally soil-covered gardening gloves.

 

“I know it will, but that’s what they asked for. Not like their budget was that great or anything.” Gabriel stretched and Jack died a little bit. How did someone who worked in a flower shop have muscles like that? The apparently French woman spoke up again.

 

“Quelle horreur. I cannot believe what some people will make us do.” She shook out her spotless apron, smoothing out invisible creases with perfectly manicured hands, and finally noticed Jack standing awkwardly in the entryway. Sharp eyes pinpointed him and Jack felt the odd sensation that he was being looked through, rather than at.

 

“Hello.” He offered somewhat lamely. Gabriel snorted, standing, and glanced over at Jack.

 

“Hell, we really need to get a bell for that door.” It was the first thing Gabriel had said around Jack that hadn’t been strictly about business, and even if it was about the shop it still showed more personality than just talking about flowers. He seemed snippy, gruff, but Jack could understand it- customer service was a hard job to work- Jack had done it for a farmer’s market in high school. He’d never been particularly abrasive himself, but people always had their reasons to be snappy. It wasn’t like he’d never gotten pissed at students at school, and he couldn’t really blame Gabriel for not wanting to talk to strangers all day. Feeling somewhat bad that he hadn’t said anything sooner, Jack finally spoke up.

 

“Er, yeah. Sorry ‘bout that. I’m here for a Mother’s Day arrangement?” This time Jack had come a bit more prepared. He actually had colors in mind this time, and a solid price range. Gabriel looked as pleased as someone with a terrible case of resting bitch face and exhaustion could look.

 

“Alright. Price range?” Gabriel whipped out the same purple tablet Sombra had previously and laid it flat on the desk. Jack noticed his handwriting was nice, rounded and neat whereas Sombra’s had mostly been scribbles. He nodded- he’d done research on flower prices before coming to the shop to avoid embarrassing himself quite as much this time. Still, he found himself flushing when he talked to Gabriel. It wasn’t fair, he always tripped over his words and become a bumbling fool around people he found attractive.

 

“I was thinking around eighty dollars?” Gabriel looked even more pleased at that, $80 would make a decent enough display. Flowers weren’t cheap, after all. The French woman gave Jack a haughty look and whispered something to Gabriel about going to the back room again. He sighed and waved her away with one dirt-coated hand.

 

“Any special requests? Colors?” Gabriel, to his credit, didn’t seem to be affected by Jack’s blushing. Either that, or he just straight up didn’t notice it. Either way, Jack was thankful. He nodded again.

 

“I was hoping for pinks? Maybe some purple.” Gabriel wrote more things on the notepad in his rounded handwriting. His hands looked soft. Jack practically shook himself. Now was _not_ the time, brain!

 

“I can have this done by tomorrow. Amélie does all the arrangements and she’s busy most of today with a bridal shower. Is that alright?” Amélie must have been the French woman in the back room. Jack thanked his lucky stars to have an excuse to come back to the flower shop. He really did want to see more of Gabriel. The man seemed gruff, but Jack had seen how much gentler he could be when he was happier. It was something he loved in people, how much they could change when they were comfortable. He didn’t want to be too pushy, but he wished Gabriel would feel that way around him someday, even if he was just a guest in Gabriel’s flower shop.

 

“Alright. I’ll be back then, ok? Thank you so much.” Jack stumbled over his words and Gabriel gave him an amused look. His heart fluttered a bit, and Jack felt the sudden urge to run away before he made even more of a fool of himself.

 

“I’ll see you then. If I’m working front desk, that is.” Jack made an affirmative gesture, already halfway to the exit. As he left, he missed the small grin on Gabriel’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jack always turns into a bumbling mess around attractive people. Poor guy.
> 
> As always, comments, kudos, and feedback are appreciated! I'm growing very attached to this AU and it has a lot of development behind the scenes that I'm hoping will be featured later on. The next chapter will be Talon-centric so get ready for shenanigans.
> 
> I can be found at [smollestfox](smollestfox.tumblr.com) on tumblr!


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